Qin Yu gazed at the unremarkable dishes before him, his appetite instantly vanishing. He’d rather have the familiar street-side stir-fries that would whet his appetite.
When Lin Hai informed him that each dish on the table cost four figures, Qin Yu’s mouth twitched involuntarily, his expression turning unnatural.
Rich people’s money is so easy to earn. Qin Yu sighed.
“Eat up, darling. Don’t you like it?” Lin Hai’s pretentious manner made Qin Yu cringe.
Lin Hai did not care at all and snapped a few photos of the table for show, then set aside his knife and fork, switching to more comfortable chopsticks.
“Are you sure you haven’t broken up?” Qin Yu asked incredulously, his eyes filled with surprise.
“What breakup? My last relationship ended nine months ago,” Lin Hai replied.
“Now I just want to focus on making money. Dating would only slow me down.” Lin Hai considered his mindset highly enlightened.
“Alright, I’ve recorded what you said,” Qin Yu fiddled with his phone, tucking it away before Lin Hai could react.
“It’s okay. After I earn from this job, I’ll treat you to another meal,” Lin Hai promised, patting his chest.
“Oh, right, how’s your gig going?” Lin Hai suddenly asked, curious about Qin Yu’s situation.
“Almost done. Tomorrow should be the last day,” Qin Yu estimated, realizing how quickly the week had passed.
“Once I receive the final payment, I’ll move out and find a new place.”
“What? Not getting along with your male college student tenant?” Lin Hai’s expression was insufferably smug.
“Heh, that house just can’t accommodate me anymore.” Qin Yu downed a glass of red wine, looking utterly heartbroken.
Damn, brother, you’re treating me to a meal with red wine? Why does this atmosphere feel off? Qin Yu pondered, weighing the empty wineglass in his hand, unable to pinpoint the strange vibe.
“I get it. My previous male roommate was some bigshot manager at a large company, quite older,” Lin Hai began.
“We lived together for months before I discovered he was gay like me. Damn pervert was secretly sneaking into my room to peep. I caught him when I took a day off work.”
“The guy acted all righteous. I even looked up to him as a work mentor.”
Lin Hai’s emotions remained stable, and he treated the story as a mere dinner conversation. No one would know how devastated he’d been then, fresh out of college and new to society.
“Actually, I’ve been through something similar,” Qin Yu softened, unable to resist offering comfort.
“I know, you mentioned it before,” Lin Hai smoothly replied.
Qin Yu: ???
Seeing Qin Yu’s disbelief, Lin Hai raised an eyebrow and continued.
“Wasn’t it during your freshman year? That guy who had a crush on you confessed by hanging on the bathroom door, saying he wanted to top you?”
“It’s hilarious thinking back. You’re tall and buff, not exactly bottom material. Why do people always assume you’re a bottom?”
Lin Hai’s laughter bordered on table-slapping.
And just like that, Qin Yu was left alone in his misery.
Qin Yu unhesitatingly stomped on Lin Hai’s polished shoe under the table, grinding deliberately.
“Laugh quieter. If we’re discovered, how are we getting out? Through the sewers?”
“I know, I know.”
After finishing their meal, Qin Yu adjusted his mask and stood beside Lin Hai, waiting for him to complete his reporting task. Out of boredom, Qin Yu noticed a couple passing by. A delicate emerald pendant earring adorned with diamonds fell from the woman’s earlobe, unnoticed by those walking ahead.
Qin Yu walked over, bent down to pick up the earring, and gently held it between his fingers.
“Excuse me, miss. I believe you dropped something,” Qin Yu said in a deep voice.
The woman, though slightly confused, turned around with a polite smile, clearly a well-bred young lady from a wealthy family.
“Oh? This earring?” The lady touched her earlobe instinctively after glancing at the item in Qin Yu’s hand, surprised to find the pendant missing.
“I just found it on the floor where you passed. It must have fallen just now,” Qin Yu added thoughtfully.
“Thank you,” the woman gave Qin Yu an apologetic smile, seemingly embarrassed by the incident.
“Well, I…”
As Qin Yu was about to finish his courteous remark, his hand suspended in mid-air, a long, strong hand with distinct knuckles suddenly reached out from behind the woman, grasping Qin Yu’s wrist.
The grip was a bit too hasty, lacking control in strength, causing Qin Yu’s wrist to ache.
Startled, Qin Yu wondered who was staging a horror scene in broad daylight.
He then noticed a man standing behind the woman, the owner of the hand gripping his wrist.
The man wore a black wool coat and appeared to be about Qin Yu’s height.
When Qin Yu took a closer look at his face, he nearly blurted out an expletive.
Wasn’t this the guy he had a video call with a few days ago?
Stay calm, Qin Yu took a deep breath. He should be thankful for his wise decision to wear a mask before leaving.
In such situations, whoever loses composure first has already lost the battle and surrendered.
Sure enough, the more bad things you do, the more shitty things you will have in life. Qin Yu was beyond complaining now.
The only thing he could be certain of was that while he had seen the other person’s face, the man hadn’t seen his. As long as he kept quiet, who could possibly connect the dots?
“Is something wrong?” Qin Yu asked the man, raising his reddened wrist that was still being tightly held.
“Sorry, I was lost in thought,” the man’s expression darkened, releasing Qin Yu’s wrist with a hint of guilt.
The woman who had lost her earring struggled to maintain her composure, forcing a smile in public.
“I apologize. My brother has been dealing with some psychological issues lately. I’m truly sorry for troubling you, sir,” the woman, quick-witted, immediately intervened to defuse the situation.
“It’s no trouble,” Qin Yu responded with a polite, measured smile.
Just as Qin Yu thought he could resolve this situation from a position of advantage and make his escape, his good friend, the big boss who had just treated him to dinner, now his liability, Lin Hai, suddenly chimed in.
“Qin Yu? Let’s go,” Lin Hai said, adjusting his high-end suit from who-knows-where. Qin Yu now despised his habit of not looking at people when speaking.
Great. He thought he had the upper hand, but Lin Hai had just exposed his name. Now he could only hope the man wouldn’t notice anything wrong.
After all, with both his face and name known, revealing his identity in this information age would be child’s play, not to mention that he was an amateur model who often received business orders.
The man’s lips curved into a slight smile. Though he said nothing, Qin Yu knew staying any longer would be unwise.
Lin Hai, misunderstanding the situation as someone hitting on Qin Yu, took his hand, interlocking their fingers, and raised them for all to see.
“He already has a boyfriend. Sorry,” Lin Hai’s performance resembled that of an obsessively loving, domineering CEO from a TV drama. In his eyes, this was probably one of his few shining moments.
Qin Yu, head slightly lowered, observing his friend’s smug expression, no longer had the desire to beat him up. Now, he just wanted to find a crack in the ground to disappear into, before the other man could confirm his identity.
“Oh? Qin Yu, is it?” the man’s brow relaxed, his previously serious and complex expression gone.
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